CAT/C/55/D/522/2012
from the toilet to avoid dehydration. The Committee notes that the treatment inflicted
on the complainant was probably aimed at forcing a confession from him, since on 6
July 2010 he was asked to sign a statement of uncertain content; he reluctantly agreed
to do so because he was completely exhausted.
7.3 Given the specific circumstances surrounding the case, on the basis of the
information at its disposal and in the absence of any refutation by the State party, the
Committee concludes that the treatment to which the complainant was subjected,
including the conditions of his detention and the denial of medical care, constitute acts
of torture, within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention.
7.4 The Committee further notes that, in addition to the abuse referred to above, the
complainant was subjected to humiliating and punitive treatment, including an attempt
to force a stone into his mouth to stifle his cries; being spat at in the face by the head
of the National Intelligence Service; and the macabre and barbaric episode when
officers tried to make him swallow a portion of his ear lobe, which had been cut off
with bicycle pliers. The Committee also notes that the complainant was deprived of
his right to visits from his family and his lawyer and his right to medical care. He was
not brought before a judge until five days after his arrest. The State party has
described only the part of the proceedings relating to the trial and the complainant ’s
conviction; it has abstained from commenting on his arrest and detention in the
premises of the National Intelligence Service between 1 and 6 July 2010, during which
time he was deprived of all judicial safeguards and tortured. The Committee concludes
that these acts also constitute a violation of article 1 of the Convention.
7.5 Regarding article 16, the Committee has taken note of the complainant ’s claim
that, owing to overcrowding, the conditions of detention to which he was exposed at
Mpimba prison, where he was transferred on 6 July 2010 and held for more than 15
months, were appalling. Furthermore, the complainant did not receive the medical care
his condition required. The Committee recalls its concluding observations on the State
party’s second periodic report, in which it expressed its alarm at the conditions of
detention in places of deprivation of liberty (see CAT/C/BDI/CO/2, para. 15). In the
circumstances, the Committee concludes that all the detention conditions to which the
complainant was exposed at Mbpimba prison from 6 July 2010 to 24 October 2011
constituted a separate violation of article 16 of the Convention.
7.6 The complainant also invokes article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention, under
which the State party should have taken “effective legislative, administrative, judicial
or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction ”. The
Committee notes that in the present case the complainant was severely beaten, then
detained without immediately being allowed to contact his family or being given
access to legal or medical assistance. It was not until 6 July 2010 that the complainant
was finally brought before a judge and informed of the charges against him. The State
party has produced no item of material evidence, such as relevant registers, capable of
refuting the complainant’s claims. Accordingly, the Committee finds a violation of
article 2, paragraph 1, read in conjunction with article 1 of the Convention. 18
7.7 The Committee also notes the complainant’s argument that article 11 has been
violated, inasmuch as the State party failed to properly monitor the treatment he
received during his detention. The complainant claims, in particular, that he was not
informed of the charges against him, that he did not have access to a lawyer during his
detention at the premises of the National Intelligence Service and that he was not
brought before a judge during his detention. He further claims that, as it was
materially impossible for him to assert his rights through legal channels, he was
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18
GE.15-16176
See communication No. 514/2012, Niyonzima v. Burundi, decision adopted on 21 November 2014,
para. 8.3.
13/15